Posture board



March 19, 1957 J. A. E. GOGUEN POSTURE BOARD Filed April 7, 1954 IN V ENTOR.

Ese/a' ./7. i. gagne/ ATTORNEYS..

'United States PatentA O POSTURE BOARD Joseph A. E. Goguen, WestWarwick, R. I. Application April 7, 1954, Serial No. 421,567 7 Claims.(Cl. 5327) This invention relates to a posture board or apparatus andhas for an object to provide a device of this character which isparticularly adapted for supporting the body of a person -in a lyingposition with the lower limbs upwardly inclined in a manner to promotecomfort and relaxation.

.- Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forsupporting the body of a person at an upwardly inclined position in agenerally straight line extending from adjacent the shoulders to thefeet.

Another object of the linvention is to provide an apparatus adapted forengaging and supporting the small of the back in an elevated position.

v-A more specific object is to provide an apparatus of the abovecharacter wherein the legs will be supported outstretched from the thighto the feet andthe body will be supported at the small of the back allalong an upwardly elevated inclination.

Another object is to provide an apparatus having a rigid supportprovided with a back-engaging portion which extends along the generalcontour of the small of the back with leg and thigh-engaging portionsconforming generally to the back side of the legs from the thigh to thefeet when outstretched. Another object is to provide an apparatus of theabove character having a back-engaging portion of a leg-engaging portionwhich may be adjustable as to the spacing therebetween.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the abovecharacter which may be easily dismantled and the parts folded togetherfor storage or other purposes.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certainnovel features of construction as will be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus embodying myinvention and illustrating a person supported thereby in an upwardlyinclined lying position;

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the base portion of the apparatusshown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the leg rest portion of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a side elevational View of one of the frames of the supportshown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a section taken substantially along lines 5 5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is an end elevation partly in section of a modifiedconstruction; and

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a fragmental portion of the base shown inFigure 6.

The posture board or apparatus according to the invention comprises baseand rest portions which are attached together and arranged to support aperson in a lying position so that the body will be supported at anupwardly inclined'position along a generally straight line from theshoulders to the feet with the feet uppermost.

2,785,418 Passed Me' le ,1957.

ICC

Thus, a better circulation of the 'blood may be had, to the upperregions of the body to promote a more complete relaxation than were theperson lying in a usual manner on a horizontal bed. This is accomplishedby supporting the legs in the said inclined position from a, locationabove the knee to a location adjacent the feet. Thus the lens from thehips extend in a general straight line. The back rest portion engagesthe small of the back and adjacent body portions so as to elevate andsupport the body at the mid section at the general inclination of thelegs. Thus the entire body from adjacent the shoulders is comfortablysupported in an upwardly inclined position in a general straight line.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates generally a posture board orapparatus comprising a base 11 which is of elongated form (see Figure 2)and may be made of any suitable stiff material, as for example wood. Thebase 11 may be conveniently made of ply wood, since such material may behad in sheet form of a' dimension to permit the base to be cut outtherefrom as a single unit without waste. At one end of the base 11 Iform a back support l2 as bymeans of a padding which is arranged toextend lengthwise of the: base on a curvature which is particularlyadapted to fit the small of the back and adjacent body portions of theuser to cause the user to be comfortable. The padding is not madesuiciently yieldable for the body to sink therein but will yieldslightly to be deformed to follow the general contour of the bodyportion engaged thereby. This rest is of a heivht to raise the partengaged or mid section of the body to incline the sameup'wardly from theshoulders of the user. The base is additionally provided with aplurality of openings 13 therethrough, and these may be equally spacedfrom each otherlengthwise of the base and centrally thereof; A bar 14 isprovided with an opening 14 (see Figure 5) therethrough and ispositioned to extend laterally across the basewith its opening i4 inregister with a selected one of the said openings 13. A pin l5 isprovided with a shank portion 16 which is removably received in theopening 14 to extend into the selected opening 13 in register with saidopening 14', thus securing the bar 1d in adjusted position lengthwise ofthe said base. The bar 1li is of a length to extend beyond the oppositesides of the basel as shown.

The leg support or rest designated generally 17 (best seen in Figure 3)is preferably made of wire material and comprises a pair of frames 18,19 which are pivotally secured to each other as at 20 whereby the framemay be folded to a closed position or unfolded to an open position, asshown in Figure 3. Each frame is substantially similar to the other andhas a lower foot portion 21 (see Figure 4) of a general U shape, and thebight thereof has a recess 22 therein which is formed by bending thebight in an appropriate manner as shown. The upper part 23 is also ofgenerally U shape, but the bight 24 thereof is made to extend on thecurvature to follow the general contour of the back of the human legfrom a location above the knee to adjacent the heel. The end extremitiesof the sides of the portions 21, 23 are joined to each other as by meansof bearing blocks or disks 25, 25'I which are centrally apertured, thesaid portions 21, 23 being joined to these bearing blocks as by means ofa welding operation. The side 26 of the upper portion 23 is made shorterthan the side 27 so as to upwardly incline the said bight 24. A centersupport 28 which is substantially similar to the frame portion 23 islikewise provided at the end extremities thereof with bearing blocks 29,29 which are likewise mounted on the pivot pins 20. A flexible sheet ofmaterial such as canvas is secured at the opposite marginal edgesthereof to the bight portions 24 of the frames and to the centralsupport 28 in any appropriate manner, as for example by turning the mar-'giiial 'edges 350th l"enclose 4the bight portion 24, as shown in Figure"5, d there stitched a's at 31'to the vupper portion of the sheet. Thecentral portion of the sheet may be secured .to the support 28 as bymeans of a'strip material LgTen'ga'ging'the underside of the bight ofthe support 28 and-stitched to the sheet as at Y33. Thus, there isprovided asurface 34 adapted to be engaged by the legs of the Auserlfrom the thigh to the heel portion thereof. Thi's's'urface 34 extendson the general contour ofthe back side of the leg of the user from thesaid thigh portionto the heel. As previously stated, bight por tions 24areinclined upwardly and the inclination is such that when the-rest1`7is in the position of use, the angle ofinclination-is approximately15 degrees from the horizkrital. The 'rest 17 is attached and secured tothe base 11 by placing the recesses 22 over the protruding ends 35 ofthe bar 14.

Referring to Figure 1, it will be seen that the legs et the userareheldjupwa'rdly inclined in an outstretched position and Vthat the bodyiselevated and supported at the small of the back and adjacent bodyportions in a nearly straight line with the angle of inclination of thelegs as indicated by dot and dash lines 36. Thus, the mid section.portion of the body is prevented from sinking into the` bed` 37.Consequently, the entire body from some point adjacent the shoulders tothe feet is inclined upwardly in a generally straight line whereby topromote relaxation as previously stated.

In Figures 6 and 7 I have shown a modified construction of base 11 andleg rest portion 17. The base 1?. is-provided with two groups 38, 38' ofnotches 39, 39 at opposite marginal edges thereof with the notches 39being spaced from each other a distance similar to the spacing of thenotches 39. The rest V17 is non-collapsible, andfits lower edges orsides 4t) are provided with depending footportions 41, 41 which arespaced a distance Ito'correspond to the spacing between a notch 39 inthe group 38 with a similarly disposed notch 39 in the group 38. TheseVfoot portions 41, 41 are received in'the'said-notches toadjustablysecure the said rest 17 onto vthe base 11' (see Figure 7).

4I-claim:

1;An-apparatusadaptedfor use to promote comfort and relaxation toaperson in a lying position comprising a base having a leg rest memberwith a leg-supporting surface upwardly inclined on a sinuous curvatureadapted for engagement of the back of the leg of the user and a backrest portion integral with the base at one end portion thereof and of aheight adapted to be engaged by the small of the back of the user toelevate and support the mid portion of the u's'er along the generalinclination of the said leg-supporting surface.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leg rest member isa'djustably secured lengthwise of said base.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leg-supporting restextends 'on a sinuous curvature and of a length for engagement of theback contour of the human leg from the thigh to adjacent the heel.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said leg rest comprisesa pair of similar yframes having foot parts and upper sides andpivotally secured to each other and a llexible leg-supporting 'surfaceextending between the said upper side of said frames and securedthereto.

5. An apparatus adapted lfor use to promote comfort and relaxation of aperson in a lying position comprising a base having a leg rest providedwith a leg-engaging surface upwardly inclined on a sinuous curvature anda back rest portion raised from the plane of the base and extending on acurvature in cross section of the base.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5 wherein Vsaid base has alaterally extending bar and said leg rest is provided with footportions, each provided with a recess for engaging said bar for securingsaid leg rest in its relative position to said base.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said bar is adjustablelengthwisefof said base.

References Cited in the lle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 885,243Haas f A131121, 1908 1,118,973 Troesch Dec. 1,1914 1,549,601 MulgrewAug. 11, `1925 2,375,225 Herbert May 8, 1945 2,551,388 Nygard -'May 1,1951 n il NL.

